Children's+Literature

1. Brown, Peter. //Children Make Terrible Pets//. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2010. N. pag. Print. Summary: One morning, Lucy, a young bear, stumbles on a small boy lost in the woods. Excitedly she takes him home to her mother who she pleads with to keep him as a pet. Her mother says yes, and the two began doing everything together. However, their fun quickly turns into chaos when the young boy becomes reckless and unable to train. Just when Lucy thought it couldn’t get any worse, the boy disappears. But after a great deal of searching, Lucy locates him with his family, realizing that he was no longer a pet. She let the boy go to his family where he belonged, and when she returned to hers, she reflected on the great lesson she learned of children make terrible pets. Imbedded lessons: Personification- Lucy is a bear that has humanistic qualities while the young boy “Squeakers” possess the character traits of an animal or “pet”.  Mirroring- Lucy is a bear in the role of a human wanting a pet. Our pet is a human (or really a young boy) whose expressions are similar to those of an animal’s.  Types of narration- Story is narrated in both third person and first. First person narration depicted through speech bubbles.  Character development - Lucy changes her opinion from the beginning of the story to the end about having a pet while the boy shifts in his role from an animal with Lucy to a human being without. Curriculum Tie- in: Character Education- Responsibility and decision making skills Art Style: The illustrations were rendered in pencil, construction paper, wood, and digital editing making for interesting images and textures. Speech bubbles were written in author’s handwriting. Online resources: N/A 2. Kajikawa, Kimiko. //Tsunami!//. Illus. Ed Young. New York: Philomel, 2009. N. pag. Print. Summary: On a mountain top near the sea of an old Japanese Village resides a wealthy rice farmer the villagers call Ojisan meaning “grandfather” because of his humble wisdom. When the day of the rice harvest celebration approaches, Ojisan refuses to attend because something does not feel right. Suddenly, while watching the festivities from his home, an earthquake struck but it was long and slow so it failed to interrupt the celebration. Ojisan looked to the sea where it was quickly receding for a greater devastation soon to come, a Tsunami. Ojisan had to save the villagers down below by bringing them to his higher ground, so he lit his fields on fire causing abundant smoke and the villagers to run up the mountain to him. Once all were on the mountain an enormous boom rang out and Ojisan pointed to the sea which was now a wall of water coming toward the mountain. The wave hit the village and swallowed it up three times fold until the sea returned to rest. Thankfully, the villagers were spared because of the sacrifice Ojisan had made of his wealth that bought them all to safety. Imbedded lessons: Realistic/Historic fiction- The character of Ojiisan is based on a real person, Hamaguchi Goryou, who directed the villagers to safety by lighting rice-straw fires when a tsunami stuck his home village of Hiro-mura in 1854.  Comparing different types of literature- Explore with students the relationships between a fiction and nonfiction book (about Tsunamis)  Comparing Authors works- Compare to Lafcadio Hern’s Story “A Living God” (Gleanings in Buddha-Fields, 1897) after which __Tsunami!__ was adapted from.  Folklore- Story discusses Japanese folklore and culture through settings (Japan), characters (Ojisan), and plot action (rice harvest celebration, ideals of sacrifice in the Japanese culture, Etc.) Curriculum tie-in: Sciences- weather, natural disasters, earth science  Art- patterns, textures, collages <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Art style: rendered in gouache, pastel, collage for a fascinating depiction of both beautiful and difficult images <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Online references: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Natural Disasters Lesson Plan <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Author and illustrator notes. Book history <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">3. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">O’Connor, Jane. //Fancy Nancy: The 100th Day of School//. Illus. Robin Preiss Glasser. New York: Harper, 2009. Print. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Summary: Fancy Nancy, who uses the fanciest words, is faced with a huge dilemma when she is unable think of what to bring on the 100th day of school. Discouraged by the objects her friends are bringing in and annoyed by original ideas from her parents, Nancy begins to believe less and less that she can find one hundred objects to bring into class. But then, when he sisters pet goldfish dies unexpectedly, and her mother is about to discard the pebbles that were in the fish bowl, Nancy gets a wonderful idea of what to bring to the one hundredth day of school. Together, she and her sister create a poster of homage to her the late fish with a drawing of the fish in its bowl with one hundred pebbles resting at the bottom. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Imbedded lessons: Vocabulary- Fancy Nancy uses some of the fanciest words. To keep, up the author imbeds meaning as well as lists the words and their definitions on the last page to study and explore further. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Rhyming/poetry- Nancy writes a poem to honor her sister’s deceased pet with a couplet pattern. Suggestion: write poem on large chart paper for an interactive reading. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> “Beginning Reading” Book/ Book in a series- Great to give first time readers and if enjoyed, children will want to continue reading and can do so with the other books in the series. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Curriculum tie-in: Math- counting <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> School themes- The 100th Day of School <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Art style: Pen and ink drawings that are colorful and friendly to readers <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Online resources: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Fancy Nancy’s Website! <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">4. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Palatini, Margie. //Piggie Pie//. Illus. Howard Fine. New York: Clarion, 1995. N. pag. Print. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Summary: Gritch the witch woke up hungry for Piggy Pie but shortly discovered she was missing one ingredient for it- the piggies! She ventured to old McDoland’s farm where she made a less than subtle approach sending the piggies into disguises of other farm animals. When Gritch landed, she first encountered ducks, then a cow, next some chickens, and finally old McDonald himself. No animal nor McDonald could disclose the location of the piggies sending Gritch into great frustration. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Just when she was about to give up, Wolf called to her advising her to give up on the pigs, he had been chasing them for days. Then Gritch got the idea to have wolf over for lunch since they were both very hungry and because she loved having wolf for lunch just as much as piggies. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Imbedded lessons: Twisted fairy tales- The story in cooperates two fairy tales including “The Three Little Pigs” and “Old McDonald” in disintegrated, nontraditional senses which make for a real quirky read <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Repetition/Alliteration- The animals of Old McDonald’s farm reply to the witches question of ‘Where are the piggies?’ with ‘a quack, a moo, of a cluck, here, there and everywhere’ just as it is recorded in the song “Old McDonald” <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Compare and contrast classic stories- students can compare and contrast this story to “The Three Little Pigs” identifying Gritch as the wolf as dissimilarity but her hunger for the pigs as a similarity. Likewise, the story of “Old McDonald is infused in the book where students can Identify with the animals on the farm that are also in the song but will disagree that the animals are really pig in disguises in the children’s song. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Onomatopoeia- “Gritch zoomed in for a THUMP-P-P! THUMP-P-P! ERRRRCH-CH! Langing” (13). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Irony- At the end of the story, Gritch takes the wolf home for lunch; literally this is her plan, to eat him for lunch and while the wolf does not know what she is planning, he too is so hungry and envisioning her as a generous meal. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Personification- Although the characters are mostly animals, they possess humanistic traits in their speech, thinking and actions <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Curriculum Tie-in: Music- “Old McDonald” <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Art style: computerized vibrant images that portray personification and rich character traits <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Online resources: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> lesson plans for //Piggie Pie// and related themes <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">5. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Polacco, Patricia. //Thank You, Mr. Falker//. New York: Philomel, 1998. N. pag. Print. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Summary: Trisha is ecstatic to start school because the beginning of school symbolizes learning how to read. But from the start, Trisha has great difficulty because all the letters and numbers are just misconstrued in her head. Despite the encouragement from her grandparents, her self-esteem in reading plummets when the other students call her a “dummy” and “ugly”. Matters only get worse when her grandparents pass away, the taunting by her peers increases, and teachers continually pass her on from one to another and from grade to grade although she is barely literate. Then, when Trisha enters the fifth grade, a new teacher, Mr. Falker, changes everything. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> He sees that extraordinary artist she is, punishes her bullies, and discovers her secret that she still cannot read. He works diligently with her after school and arranges for her to meet with a reading specialist so that she can finally succeed in reading. And one day, word after word, became sentence after sentence, and then paragraph after paragraph, and Trisha smiled and cried tears of joy. She was forever grateful for Mr. Falker. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Imbedded lessons: Autobiography- Thank you Mr. Falker is the true story of Patricia Polacco growing up as a child with dyslexia. Mr. Falker came into her life in the fifth grade and was the first to identify her problem and work with her as well as pay out of pocket for further private instruction so that she could someday be successful in reading. Ms. Polacco is forever thankful for Mr. Falker and the way in which he changed her life. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Realistic Fiction- Although this is a autobiography of Patricia Polacco, the situation of a child struggling to read occurs every day, in every school, in every class. Students will be able to identify with Trisha for having had difficulties at some point or another either in reading or other subjects. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Curriculum tie- in: Character education: bullying, respect, helping others <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Art style: Artwork by Patricia Polacco herself in water color, pen, and ink <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Online resources: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> - an interview with Patricia Polacco on //Thank You, Mr. Falker//, the true story. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> - developing comprehension <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> – Thank you activities <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">6. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Rosenthal, Amy Krouse. //Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons//. Illus. Jane Dyer. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. N. pag. Print. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Summary: Cookies is the common courtesy dictionary of the 21st century! Each cookie the children and their animal friends make comes with a different courtesy or manner. Each word is stated in capitals and bold and is preceded by a sentence that describes the word and illustration. For instance, “RESPECT means offering the very first cookie to your grandmother” (7). Some of the words defined and described include patient, modest, open-minded, fair and unfair, pessimistic and optimistic, loyal, honest, and many more. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Imbedded lessons: Vocabulary (specifically about manners)- words pertaining to etiquette and manners are the essentials of the book. They are defined by examples and prefaced by the word ‘means’ <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Personification- The author gives the animals in the story human characteristics of being generous, offering cookies to other animals or regretting that they ate too many cookies. In reality animals cannot eat cookies and therefore cannot share them with other animals nor regret eating so many. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Curriculum Tie- in: Character education – Manners and etiquette <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Art style: Water color and pencil artwork fill the pages with human and animal characters to convey these friendly messages <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Online resources: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> lessons on good character with //Cookies: Bite Size Life Lessons// <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">7. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Schwartz, David M. //If Dogs Were Dinosaurs//. Illus. James Warhola. New York: Scholastic, 2005. N. pag. Print. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Summary: If dogs were dinosaurs begins with just this idea “If dogs were dinosaurs, his diner would fill up your living room” (1,2). This entertaining book of math ideas and concepts goes on and on to list the many ideas of what different objects, people, and places would be like if put into a different proportion and compared to relating elements. The book compares sizes, thickness, and weight to one another in interesting settings and situations. Can you imagine how big the almonds would be if a chocolate bar covered the mall. Read this wacky innovative math book to find out the answer! <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Imbedded lessons: Similes- “If Raphie were as tall as a redwood…”(3). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Metaphors- “If the moon were a marble…”(5). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Same letter and word patterns- “If your taste buds were as big as rosebuds…”(8). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> “ If germs were as big as gerbils…”(9). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Figurative language- the author’s imaginative writing of proportions and ratios causes children to create a mental image of how object would actually appear in the scale described. “If cruise ships were the size of Kayaks, speedboats could race across your cereal bowl” (12-14). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Curriculum tie-in: Math- proportion, ratios, measurement <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Sciences- biology, physics, earth science, space <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Art Style: Pencil and water color on Arches water color paper make for imaginative images that complement the text <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Online resources: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> author’s website <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">8. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Seuss, Dr. //Dr. Seuss’s ABC//. 1963. New York: Random, 1991. Print. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Summary: “Big A, little a. What begins with A?” (3) is the whimsical method to learning our ABC’s with Dr. Seuss. The book travels through the alphabet identifying capital letters, lowercase letter, and several words that beginning with that letter following one right after the other creating alliteration. The book is also rich with illustrations of some of Dr. Seuss’s most beloved characters and famous wacky words. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Imbedded lessons: Alphabet- Letters A-Z are given to each page with intermittent pages of the alphabet to the letter on the following page <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Alliteration- “David Donald Doo dreamed a dozen doughnuts and a duck-dog, too. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Capitals- the symbol of a capital letter is depicted and identified as well as the usages of capitals to start sentences and in proper nouns. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Lowercase- the symbol of a lowercase letter is stated and in a proportion smaller than the capital letter before it. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Curriculum tie-in: Creativity and Imagination <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Art Style: pen and ink drawing capture some of Dr. Seuss’s famous characters in teaching us our alphabet. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Online resources: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> - lesson for handwriting and alphabet as well as other Dr. Seuss books <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> - center lessons with Dr. Seuss’s ABC book <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> - alphabet scavenger hunt and integration of other subjects <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">9. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Stead, Philip C. //A Sick Day for Amos McGee//. Illus. Erin E. Stead. New York: Roaring Brook, 2010. N. pag. Print. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Summary: Old Mr. Amos McGee awakes every morning and exuberantly readies himself for work at the City Zoo. At the zoo he always made time to visit his good friends. He played chess with the elephant, raced the tortuous, sat quietly with the penguin, lent a handkerchief to the rhinoceros, and read stories to the owl. However, one morning Amos awoke with a cold which prevented him to go to work. All morning, friends waited for him there and wondered where he was. So later that day, they ventured to Amos’s house where they engaged in their usual activities. Mr. McGee was beginning to feel better thanks to his friends, and they would all return to the zoo tomorrow. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Imbedded lessons: Text organization- The story follows a sequential order of events from the beginning of the day to the end. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Circular stories- the story begins with Amos traveling to visit his friends at the zoo. The story commences with his friends from the zoo visiting Amos in his home. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Verbs- Amos and his friends participate in a variety of activities including playing chess, sitting, racing, lending, and reading. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Curriculum tie-in: Character education- friendship <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Art style: woodblock printing was used to create these visually interesting and quiet pieces that are soothing to any reader. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Online references: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> - sick day activities for the preschool classroom <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> - Plans for grade k-8 <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">10. Tang, Greg. //Math Potatoes//. Illus. Harry Briggs. New York: Scholastic, 2005. N. pag. Print. Summary: Comprised of 16 math riddles, Math Potatoes is a delicious way for students to learn about several math concepts including grouping, addition, subtraction, and problem solving skills. Each problem is in a different context with a silly rhyming description of it and imbedded hints to help students solve the riddles. Answers follow in the back of the book with a written and illustrated method to solving. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Imbedded lessons: Rhyming/Couplets- “At the dance the socks all mingle, Most are paired but some are single” (3,4). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Riddles- “Can you count each shining star? The answer isn’t very far. When you look up to the heavens, Try to think in groups of sevens” (9) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> Puns- “Pearly Whites”, “In a pickle”, “Nut house” <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Curriculum tie- in: Math- problem solving, grouping, addition, subtraction, counting, multiplication Art Style: Computerized images crucial to the text for serving as a visual to aid in solving problems. Online resources: [] - 453 //Math Potatoes// lesson plans
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Linking Literature and Literacy **